[b]WHL[/b]
[url=blair-jones]Blair Jones[/url] and Moose Jaw wrapped up the WHL Eastern Conference crown tonight in Medicine Hat. The Warriors defeated the Tigers are currently tied 4-3 in overtime to send them to the WHL finals against the Vancouver Giants.. Jones has 1 assist in the game. Moose Jaw wins the series 4-1. Blair Jones leads the WHL in playoff scoring with 19 points in 18 games.

Senators lead the series 3-1. Give credit to Ottawa. They bury their chances and they've buried the Lightning. A lot of soul searching may be in the offing for the Lightning this summer.
OTT-5
TB-2
[url=paul-ranger]Paul Ranger[/url] had 2 assists.
Game sheet from [url=http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20052006/GS030114.HTM]NHL.com.[/url]

[b]WHL[/b]
Moose Jaw now holds a commanding 3-1 series lead on Medicine Hat after defeating the Tigers 3-1 Wednesday night. [url=blair-jones]Blair Jones[/url] was an assist away from a Gordie Howe hat trick after fighting Brett Robertson early in the first period and scoring his 8th goal of the postseason in the second. The Warriors held a 3-0 lead until the 19:29 mark of a penalty-filled third period. Jones finished plus-1 for the game with 7 minutes in penalties. He was named the game's Third Star.

[b]WHL[/b]
[url=blair-jones]Blair Jones[/url] and the Moose Jaw Warriors failed to take a stranglehold on Medicine Hat in their Eastern Conference Final Tuesday night as the Warriors fell on home ice to the Tigers, 5-3. Moose Jaw, who had won both Games 1 and 2 in Medicine Hat, still leads the series, but instead of 3-0 as expected, it's 2-1.
Jones had a goal and an assist in the game, as well as an Even rating. He opened the scoring half-way through the first period with his seventh goal of the playoffs. The Tigers would score the next three and four of the next five goals before Jones assisted on Troy Brouwer's goal at the 14-minute mark of the third to bring Moose Jaw within one.
Jones leads all playoff scorers in the WHL with 7 goals and 17 points in 16 games.

Ottawa now leads the series 2-1 after a blood bath in game three.
OTT-8 (7)
TB-4 (5)
I'd like to thank the refs for A.) awarding Ottawa their third goal by not calling a blatant boarding penalty on the Sens third goal and B.) robbing [url=evgeny-artyukhin]Evgeny Artyukhin[/url] of his first career playoff goal late in the third period on a phantom "kicking motion" call on a goal that never should've even been reviewed. Apparently the league office didn't want Ray Emery's stats/confidence to be scarred by a meaningless goal in the final minute of the contest. Ridiculous. The referees certainly didn't cost the Lightning this game, they did that all by themselves, but Kerry Fraser and Eric Furlatt should be severely reprimanded by the league for an inept display of officiating that allowed the game to degenerate into a small scale riot.
I'd also like to thank Chris Neil for proving to the entire league that he is a guttless puke who doesn't have the rocks to stand accountable for his actions on the ice. After challenging a 40 year old goaltender to a fight (very brave) he proceeded to turtle and pee himself in fear when squaring off with Chris Dingman (who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper sack). My guess is Neil probably confused Ottawa's training staff when he first got to the team when he tried to give them his skirt size instead of his jersey size. And Vaclav Varada? Not much better.
On the positive side, [url=paul-ranger]Paul Ranger[/url] scored his first two career NHL playoff goals in the game in garbage time. No matter what happens from here on out, I am happy that many more people around the league are finally being exposed to what a fine young player Ranger is. Also, I'd like to applaud the work of Ryan Craig in this game. He came back from a puck in the face to consistently answer the bell to defend his teammates throughout the game. My only regret is that he couldn't get ahold of Varada after he boarded Ruslan Fedotenko and choke the life out of the rotten little weasel.
Ranger was -1 in 23:30 with 7 shots on goal, 1 hit and 3 blocked shots. Tonight may have been the night his offensive potential finally began to blossom. Craig was -2 in 10:26 with 1 shot and one hit. His speed has put him at a disadvantage in this series, but there's still time for him to contribute in other areas, particularly on the Lightning's slumbering power play. Evgeny Artyukhin was +1 (should've been +2) with 3 hits (and should've been 1/1 on shots on goal too).
The Lightning now have to regain their composure going into a critical game four matchup. A loss likely spells the end of the season. A win will throw the pressure right back onto the Sens' backs in game five. Tim Taylor missed the second half of the game with an "upper body injury" which may lead to the first appearance of Rob Dimaio in this series. Either way, the Lightning must balance the need to be physically aggressive with the need to stay out of the box in game four and they must begin to minimize the mistakes made by their defensemen and backchecking forwards alike that are leading to breakdowns and odd man situations.
Game sheet from [url=http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20052006/GS030113.HTM]NHL.com.[/url]